The present invention relates to the field of computer graphics, and in particular to methods and apparatus for creating animated sequences. Many computer graphic images are created by mathematically modeling the interaction of light with a three dimensional scene from a given viewpoint. This process, called rendering, generates a two-dimensional image of the scene from the given viewpoint, and is analogous to taking a photograph of a real-world scene. Animated sequences can be created by rendering a sequence of images of a scene as the scene is gradually changed over time. A great deal of effort has been devoted to making realistic looking rendered images and animations.
Typically, live-action and animated films are comprised of a number of shots that have been edited together into specific sequence. A shot is a sequence of footage or animation that runs for an uninterrupted period of time. A shot is typically created from a single camera viewpoint. The primary subject of a shot and the distance of the camera viewpoint to the subject determines the narrative qualities of the shot. Editors arrange shots to create sequences that form the entire film. Editor often cut or edit the length of shots when creating sequences. Editing is a crucial aspect of film-making and can greatly influence the style, pacing, emotion, and narrative effect of a film.
Traditionally, animation is extensively planned in advanced, often using storyboards or preliminary sketches. This planning often roughly defines the shots to be created. Animators are then assigned to create specific shots. Shots are typically created separately. After the shots are animated and rendered, editors then fine tune the pacing and sequencing of the animated shots to create the final animated film.
Because animation is typically created from separate, individually animated shots, artistic flexibility is limited. After creating an initial sequence from a set of shots, if an editor or director decides to add a different type of shot to a sequence or to drastically resequence the shots, animators often have to create new shots from scratch. Additionally, many sequences contain common elements or animations shown from different viewpoints. With current animation tools, once a common animation has been split into multiple shots, it is difficult to modify the common elements or animations and propagate these changes to multiple separate shots.
Therefore, there is an unmet need for computer graphics animation software tools to allow users to create, modify, and manipulate animations over multiple shots.